October 7, 2016 - 18:26 — Timothy Gillespie
Buildings badly in need of repair
73% of the exterior walls - or 1,725 linear feet - at the Lunenburg Nova Scotia Community College campus will be repaired or replaced through a $5.1 million joint project between Nova Scotia department of Labour and Advanced Education ($3.1 million) and the federal Strategic Investment Fund ($2 million), according to a government news release Friday and emails from a communications official with NSCC.
Structural failure, leaks, poor efficiency
Though not mentioned in the news release, the aging structure has begun to fail structurally, is leaking and has very poor energy efficiency, NSCC officals told SCT in an email. The modernization, according to project manager Brian Fancy, will help extend the life of the campus by 40 to 50 years. Energy efficiency is expected to increase by 60%.
The news release described the work as replacing the exterior "wall system", which Fancy describes as "a series of compatible architectural products - such as glass, framing, insulation, vapor barrier, cladding, concrete, drywall, etc.- that are combined to strategically create a durable, attractive and energy-efficient building envelope."
The project funding was announced by Nova Scotia Business minister Mark Furey and MP Bernadette Jordan.
Where is the research?
The federal funding is allocated through the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund which helps modernize research facilities on Canadian campuses and improves the environmental sustainability of these facilities. The web site for the Lunenburg campus was not explicit about what research, if any, is conducted at the school. There are references to a "research network", which noted activity at other campuses and collaborations with NSCC and Dalhousie University
The federal funding is allocated through the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund which helps modernize research facilities on Canadian campuses and improves the environmental sustainability of these facilities. The web site for the Lunenburg campus was not explicit about what research, if any, is conducted at the school. There are references to a "research network", which noted activity at other campuses and collaborations with NSCC and Dalhousie University
Canada a global innovation centre? "D" grade upped to "C" with small improvements
Jordan said in the news release that, with the federal funding, "we are strengthening the foundation for building Canada into a global centre for innovation." News reports from Canadian Business Magazine and other publications tell a different story than that espoused by MP Jordon.
Less than one year ago, Canadian Businnss wrote, "Following decades of weak innovation performance, Canada is seeing small improvements in some areas. In the latest Conference Board of Canada’s innovation report card, Canada earns a “C” and ranks 9th among 16 peer countries. This is an improvement over the “D” grade and 13th-place ranking in the last innovation report card."
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